


Navigating the Waters of Emma Swan's Heart

by sophrio



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27827152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophrio/pseuds/sophrio
Summary: It's probably not in their best interest for a struggling pirate and an elegant member of high-society to be dancing together but my god, does that music sound tempting.Regina "Gutter Urchin" Mills, a voyager/pirate/do-gooder has lived on the sea for almost the entirety of her life with her sister, crew and the legacy her father left her, content in her ways, until a pair of Neptune-blue eyes disrupt her life with the feeling of flowers blooming in her chest.A story in which a girl who commits occasional crimes in the name of good falls in love with a lady who prosecutes those who commit crimes.
Relationships: Aurora/Mulan (Once Upon a Time), Belle/Wicked Witch of the West | Zelena, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Prince Charming | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard
Kudos: 9





	Navigating the Waters of Emma Swan's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, lovebugs! Have a nice day and remember to drink some water if you haven't 😌

Regina Mills was tired beyond belief.

As the captain of a pirate ship infamous for its reckless and chaotic nature, going days without any sleep was almost second nature for her and although it would be entirely reasonable to get some rest, something about the red of the dawn told her not to let her eyes droop in even the slightest. 

She sighed, it had been a slow day. Well, actually, it hadn't been slow at all- it would've probably just be easier to call it a terrible day. Perhaps everything would be so much simpler of it had just been a slow day. Instead, the raven-haired captain was now on the brink of a mutiny due to a small miscalculation.

A small miscalculation that left one of her key crewmates stranded on an island that would certainly kill him sooner or later. 

Regina let out a long groan, her head tucked in her hands, legs dangling off of the side of her polished ship. The name, "The Prince Henry", was supposed to signify the promises she made to her father but now it only reminded her of the ones she broke. 

Of course, it hadn't been her fault she was blissfully ignorant of the guard dogs that protected the jewels her crew were trying to steal. Nor did she know that those jewels belonged to the heart of the Enchanted Forest and were some of the most important things regarding the lands.

And now Killian is gone, she thought, almost throwing herself off the ship with frustration. To be perfectly frank, very little was stopping her from actually doing it but maybe it wasn't a great idea to do something that would surely lead to a confrontation with mermaids she had previously wronged.

If you didn't know already, mermaids were some of the scariest things you could encounter, especially ones with ties to the very people hunting you down like pheasants, simply due to a tiny misunderstanding.

Well, maybe replace "tiny misunderstanding" with "countless felonies punishable by death" but that was besides the point.

Slowly, she picked herself off of the cold wooden boards decorating the floor of the ship and stood up. Her heavy boots added a few inches to her height but her tired posture took them right off again. 

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again," she murmured quietly to herself, grabbing a large bottle of whiskey from a small table by the stairs near the boat wheel. She raised the bottle to her lips only for it to dribble down onto her crisp white, unbuttoned shirt from the shock of the sharp slam of a door.

"Regina, we can't keep going on like this."

Regina winced slightly at the glimpse of fiery red hair whipping around like a sail in the wind. "I mean, honestly, sis, just take a look at yourself."

"Zelena-"

"No, as a matter of fact, look at me. I haven't slept in the last thirty-one hours and god forbid you stop at an island with the slightest semblance of hot water for me to wash what smells like wet dog off of me," the pristine voice scoffed, slumping down onto the lowest step, easily taking the vodka from Regina's hands and swigging from it.

"Zelena, I'm far too tired and stressed to care about the temperature of your showers so please, can you just be quiet for a second?" Regina said, plopping down again and resting her head into Zelena's shoulder, her speech muffled slightly. Zelena raised her eyebrows disapprovingly.

"Alright then, though I'm telling you, if it's Killian you're worried about, you're stressed about nothing. I never liked him anyways- he always carried the aura of a rat around him. The rest of the crew didn't either so cheer up, pet," she said, soothingly rubbing circles on Regina's back. "Bit of a waste of money hiring him to help us though, but what can you do."

Regina chuckled and turned to face the red-head, "Yeah, I guess, but I can't help feeling like a failure. I should have been more prepared but I was too busy thinking about that stupid Snow."

Snow White: the person hunting down Regina, also one of the captains of the King's Royal Navy Guard. Regina couldn't count all the times Snow had tried and almost succeeded in running her through with an arrow from her state-of-the-art bow while chasing her. She seemed to live in Regina's mind, whether it be a nightmare or wandering thoughts in the day.

"Of course you were," Zelena sighed. "You know, I heard she got a new crew because her old one got injured fighting some sea monster but that's probably just some old rumour floating around."

"It better be. Took us almost three months of constant and brutal loss to figure out how to avoid them through their weaknesses and I really don't want to have to figure it out again." 

Zelena laughed teasingly at her sister, flicking her gently on the forehead. "You never were one who enjoyed having to do things yourself that required actual energy." 

"Hey! That is so not true!" Regina protested. "Just yesterday, I, well, I- I am not lazy! Say something like that again and I won't hesitate to throw you overboard!" 

"You wouldn't dare throw me overboard- I'm the only thing stopping your crewmates from sacrificing you for food."

Regina grumbled disparigingly, "I'm not a bad captain or anything, it's just that maybe sometimes ever so occasionally I can be a bit- well, blunt."

"Just yesterday you told Cruella that it looked and smelled like a skunk died in her hair," Zelena snickered. "I mean, you weren't wrong but it was a tad cruel, don't you think?"

"It's not exactly my job to baby them and keep them happy. They're here because we live in a broken society that doesn't care about the poor enough to let them live, not so that they can get mollycoddled."

"Damn."

Regina looked up to face Zelena, "What? It's true."

"I'm not saying it isn't, darling. I was just thinking about how depressing you are. I mean, at the rate you're going at, it won't be long until the only thing you can see on your face are frown lines," replied Zelena, scoffing and elbowing Regina away from her. 

"What do you think about then, if not our messed up world?"

"I don't think. That's why I look so youthful."

They were both quiet for a small moment, just watching the horizon become lighter, soft red hues turning into pale oranges.

"I wish mom threw you away when you were born."

"I wish mum hadn't dropped you on the head when you were born.

They both smiled. Zelena stood herself up, staggering a bit as she did, the bottle of half finished vodka still in her hand. 

"C'mon, pet, Ursula told me to tell you that she's making her infamous brioche rolls, and you look absolutely famished."

Regina looked up at the sky, murmuring a small agreement. "Thank you, Zelena."

"I'm not kidding, love, you look like a disease-ridden corpse that's been found by a starving pack of wolves," Zelena retorted, nudging at Regina's leg with the toe of her boot.

"Lena! You ruined the moment!" Regina whined, slapping away Zelena's shoe and jumping up to swat at her face.

"Well, excuse me for speaking my mind," Zelena said snidely. "Whatever, I'm ready to get my hands on those brioche rolls and I do not need the greasy fingerprints of your little minions entering my mouth."

Regina opened her mouth to interrupt but closed it again. "Fine. Have it your way, Zel."

She rolled her eyes and tossed vibrant auburn hair behind her shoulder, summoning Regina to link arms with her before mustering up strength to drag her body away from the main deck of the ship and into the crew cabin where people playing cards and baking could be heard laughing.

Everything was silent after they had left, save for the occasional slapping of water against the strong wooden boards of the ship. 

It was the calm before a storm.


End file.
